Vacation Rentals in Georgia (Country)

Georgia is a land of contrasts, characterised on the one hand by pulsating metropolises like the capital Tbilisi or the Black Sea city Sochumi, but on the other hand still as wild and mysterious as hardly any other country in Europe. Last but not least, this area of tension has boosted tourism and led to the emergence of numerous holiday apartments and vacation rentals in Georgia. If you are looking for a holiday home, you will find it especially in Tbilisi and in the region around the Black Sea town of Batumi, which is famous for its 800-metre-long beach promenade lined with palm trees.

If you like it a bit more remote and are looking for a vacation rental in the unique mountain world of Georgia, you will definitely find it away from Tbilisi and the seaside resorts on the Black Sea. The focus is above all on the north of the country, where one Caucasian giant follows another. A rustically furnished vacation rental in Samagrelo Planned or Racha-Lechkum-Kvemo-Svaneti Planned National Park not only promises absolute peace and relaxation, but also an excellent starting point for hiking tours to the countless cultural sites from over 2,500 years of history.

Georgia, also known as the Balcony of Europe, is geographically located in the Near East and 87 percent of its territory is covered by foothills and mountains with peaks of up to 5068.9 meters. Between the Great Caucasus in the north, the Small Caucasus in the south and the Armenian highlands, the Colchian Plain stretches along the Black Sea coast. In contrast to the rather cool mountain regions, it has a subtropical climate that even allows palm trees to thrive. From snow-covered peaks, dense coniferous forests and steppe-like plains to dreamlike beaches, Georgia has a lot to offer.

If you are planning a holiday in Tbilisi or in the seaside resorts on the Black Sea coast, you can fall back on city buses and taxis, which are available in sufficient numbers and quite inexpensive. However, if you would like to make a trip from your vacation rental to the hinterland, you have the choice of either taking a rental car yourself or chartering a car with a local driver. The advantage: Especially on the winding mountain roads this is on the one hand much more pleasant and on the other hand not much more expensive than driving yourself. You can travel particularly cheaply both in the country and in the city, but with the minibuses called Marschrutka, which connect countless regional destinations with each other.

Georgia is basically divided into three climate zones. While the Black Sea coast and the adjacent Kolchis plain have a subtropical climate with temperatures between 5 degrees Celsius in January and 24 degrees Celsius in July, the climate in the east is somewhat more extreme. There, cool but snowless winters alternate with sometimes extremely hot summers, in which as little precipitation falls as in nearby Northern Iran. In the mountainous regions of Georgia, however, mercury rarely rises above the 15-degree Celsius mark even in summer, so that the highest peaks there are completely covered by ice even in the warm season.

As far as the optimal travel time is concerned, this depends strongly on which region you would like to travel to and where you would like to book your holiday home. While it is particularly pleasant in summer in the Black Sea coastal region, you should avoid the middle and east of the country at this time, as temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius are not uncommon. These areas, which include the greater Tbilisi area, are best visited between April and June and in September and October.

Founded in 485 AD, the town of Tbilisi, whose name means warm spring, is a paradise for culturally interested holidaymakers in Georgia. In addition to the historic old town with its cobblestone passages and three-storey brick buildings, Georgia's capital is primarily captivating because of its 700-year-old spa district and numerous sacred buildings. Those who want to plunge directly from their apartment into the pulsating nightlife will also find what they are looking for in the club scene of Tbilisi.

The town of Telavi in the Kakheti region is famous not only for the 900-year-old tree of Georgia, but also for its wine-growing culture, which the Romans once brought from faraway Italy. You can not only admire the cathedral of Alaverdi, but also taste the best wines of the country in the numerous rustic wineries.

In the 12th century, the cave town of Vardzia was built in the south of Georgia. It was carved into a rock face of Eruscheti Mountain and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Originally planned as a border fortification against Turks and Persians, the building long served as a refuge and monastery. Today you can still visit 750 rooms of the city, which once offered space for 50,000 people, and enjoy the magnificent colonnades, vaults and colorful frescoes.

Not far from the town of Kutaissi there is the Sataplia Nature Park around the mountain of the same name. The long extinct volcano holds many secrets for travellers who are eager to discover. Among them are also several petrified traces of dinosaurs and other primeval creatures. But the absolute highlight is the 600 meters long karst cave, which is lined by countless stalagmites and stalactites and accommodates a huge hall in the middle, in which a football field could comfortably be placed.

Since foreign influences have largely failed to influence Georgian cuisine, it is still as original as it was over a hundred years ago. And this is precisely what makes regional cuisine so charming and what has given it the nickname "Haute Cuisine of the East". In addition to typical starters such as stuffed eggplants with walnut paste (Badridschani), you should not miss the numerous hearty dishes such as shashlik (mzwadi), red bean soup (lobio) and hammele stew with walnut sauce (chanachi).